Souls
by Kritirio
Summary: Do you know that the palm print of your true love is identical to yours? It's because you and your partner are two different pieces of the same soul. Some times it's easy to find your other half, sometimes it moderately difficult and sometimes it very difficult but in my case, its forbidden. You may think your life is complicated but trust me you wouldn't want to trade shoes.
1. Chapter 1

Ever wandered what it would be like to fade. No, not die or lose consciousness but to cease to exist altogether. At one point or the other I'm sure you've thought about just giving up. To just end the numerous processes those declare you living. Well if you've ever had thoughts like this and some doctor has told you that you've suicidal tendencies than he's more or less wrong. People commit suicide when they're fed up of life but you're not fed up, are you. You just feel emptiness in your heart every morning. You get the feeling you're losing something important but you don't know what it is. There's a sadness in your heart that has absolutely no reason to be there.

Are you curious as to why you feel like this? Do you want to find out? And more importantly can you be cured?

The cries of a newly born baby echoed in the palace of Hades. Queen Persephone had just given birth to a son, the first born of the Lady of spring and the Lord of the Underworld and heir to throne of Hades. The midwife handed the baby to his mother, who after giving birth to her first son was tired beyond words. She gently took him in her arms and gazed upon her child for the first time. She looked into the boy's obsidian eyes as he squirmed and cried in her arms. The queen smiled loving at the bundle in her arms. She gently kissed the little boys forehead, giving him her blessing.

She felt someone sit beside her and look at the baby in awe. "He has your eyes." The queen said. The man smiled lovingly at the boy. He reached out and took her from his mother's hand.

"Yes, he does" The man said. He stood up and cradled the baby in his hands in an attempt to stop him from crying. Strangely it worked and the baby stopped crying and stared into the eyes of his father. The baby stared into the eyes of the man who was holding him for a few questioning seconds and then closed his eyes and snuggled into the man's chest.

"What are you going to name him?" asked the man. The women smiled before answering "Perseus".

"Perseus ehh? That's a fine name." the man said.

"Indeed my lord, one fitting the heir of the underworld." Said a man clothed in a black robe and a beautiful face as he materialized and walked next to him.

"Thanatos, it's nice of you to come, old friend". The father said.

"How could I not? He is my first and only godson." Thanatos replied. He walked next to the father and took the baby from his hand.

"He's going to be quite powerful, being the first born of the eldest of the big three." Thanatos stated. He looked at the baby carefully, his cold calculating eyes examining the baby's flesh.

"What domain are you going to give him?" asked Thanatos. "As he's your son and heir, it must be something important."

The lord of the underworld smiled at his friend. Thanatos is a powerful ally and a loyal friend. He often thought it was ironic that he considered death to be a loyal friend.

"Souls." declared the Lord of the dead.

"Hmmm" Thanatos seemed to contemplate the idea. "Perseus, God of souls. Well it sure does have a ring to it."

"And flowers." added the queen. "Perseus, God of souls and flowers".

The two males gave a hearty laugh. "Flowers?" questioned Thanatos.

"Of course, he's a child of spring just as much as he's a child of the underworld." stated the queen.

"I suppose he is."

"Well I can't let you two out do Me." said Thanatos.

"What do you mean?" asked Hades.

"He's my godson Hades; I'm going to give him a title as well." Thanatos answered. "Perseus, God of souls, flowers and minor god of death".

Hades was surprised by his friend's words, in the world of the immortals, doing things for others, is very rare.

"Thank you Thanatos, it's an honor to have you as friend". Hades stated.

Thanatos smiled goofily at his friend, "Well of course it's an honor, they don't make gods like me anymore".

Hades laughed at his friends antics, "Indeed they don't my friend."

"Alecto" shouted Hades.

A bat like feminine creature materialized in the room next to Hades.

"You summoned my lord" said the creature as it bowed to the lord of the dead.

"Yes, I did. Let there be a bouquet today, let every soul know that their master has been born. Let the underworld rejoice the birth of the Ghost King".


	2. Prologue

_A/N: Thank you everyone who read,followed,favourited or reviewed the first chapter. Hope all of you liked it. I just wanted to ask you guys if anyone of have any ideas for my other story, Lost. I seemed to be blocked at movement. If anyone have any ideas, PM me and please review, your criticism means a lot to me._

Ever wish you could have your own world. A world that you created, where everything is the way you wish for it to be. What would your world be like? Perfect, happy, peaceful. The idea is quite intriguing although I could not get a whole world to myself but I got the next best thing, a city.

Rooh, the city of souls. I won't tell you how the city looks like for it'll ruin the surprise for you. The only way a mortal can get into my city is if he's worthy. If you wish to enter then you must be of pure heart, selfless and above all you must have an imagination. If you've all of these, then don't worry, you'll get in but you'll have to be pure energy before you do, in other words you must be dead.

But enough about the city, you'll get to see it eventually. You must be wandering who I'm. Well you must've already classified me as a hallucinating idiot. If you've, then you've got no imagination and lack the most crucial ingredient to enter my city.

As for my identity, my mother named me Perseus, God of souls, flowers and minor god of death. Oh so you think being a god of flowers is funny. Well I'm sure you'll think differently once I make poison ivy crawl up your pants.

Currently I was deep in discussion with a friend of mine; most of you with a mild knowledge of history will know him, Socrates, the wandering philosopher. We were discussing about drafting a constitution that would be in perfect.

"The laws concerning murder, rape, torture and corruption must be severe". I said.

"But there is no way of confirming if someone is truly guilty in the mortal world. What if an innocent person was to be punished?" Socrates argued.

"Than what do you think? Should murderers be allowed free passage?" I asked.

"No, I agree that laws concerning severe crimes must be strict but before that we must develop a way to confirm a person's guilt". He stated. I mused over his idea for a while, Hmm a way to confirm of someone's guilt.

"Percy" l heard a feminine voice say. I turned around and smiled at the speaker.

"Hello mother" I said.

"I see your deep in discussion". My mother stated,

"Yes, Socrates and I were thinking about making a perfect constitution". I said. My mother turned to her gaze on Socrates, who stood up a bowed in respect "My queen" he said.

"Hello Socrates" my mother said then turned to me "Well I just visited to inform you that I'll be leaving for the surface for a while, your grandmother wants some help growing cereals".

"Help! That's unusual" I stated.

"Yes, apparently those stupid mortals are still contaminating their environment. I wouldn't surprised if my mother decides to wipe them out" my mother said.

She's not exaggerating one bit by saying that. Mother Nature is quite formidable when annoyed

"Yeah Lady Demeter can be quite scary when she wants to be". I said remembering the time I accidently said that cereals are useless. Warning, when if you find yourself in her presence, do not in any way whatsoever insult cereal. It doesn't end well.

"Well I just wanted to tell you that if you need anything you can find me somewhere in Tennessee'' she said.

"Alright mother".

She kissed my cheek and flashed away.

"Now where were we?" I asked turning back to the Socrates.

"I believe something about a way to absolutely be sure of someone's guilt" he reminded.

"Oh right, well I was thinking….." and so we continued our conversation.

**_Mount Othrys_**

"My lord, I believe it's time. Our armies are ready, it's the perfect time to strike the Olympians" a shadowy figure said.

"Good, go get someone to bear my burden, I will lead the attack myself" replied an ancient voice.

"As you command, my lord".

Percy's POV

It has been two days since my mother went to the upper world. If you ask me I don't why anyone would want to live there, it's so contaminated, full of diseases and terror. I would pick the underworld any day.

I was currently in the throne room of my father. We were discussing about the strange unrest that had settled near the entrance to Tartarus.

"Perhaps it's because some being is trying to escape". I suggested.

"Yes, it's a possibility, a rather pessimistic one but a possibility. However I have observed in the past that the pit acts like this every now and then." My father said.

"Yes father, but I've a bad feeling about this. I asked my brother Nichorius and he agrees as well. He says he has been seeing visions of the entrance" I said and my brother, who was listening to us from his throne nodded in agreement.

See Nichorius was born a few millennia after me, in between us was our sister Bianca, who was seated on her throne.

The throne room of the underworld was quite different from Olympus's. For one there was a huge, oval table in the middle. At the head of the table sat my father, at its other end was my mother's throne. I was at my father's right and my sister Bianca was at his left. My brother Nicholas had his throne by my mother's right side and in his opposite sat the youngest of my siblings Hazel. In between were the thrones of the gods and goddesses of the underworld. Lord Thanatos had his throne by my side and on his opposite sat Lady Styx followed by her sisters, the other four river goddesses. Next to Thanatos sat Lord Charon, the ferry man as he's properly known and he is followed by the three guardians of the fields of punishment or hell as it is known, then Asphohadel and finally Elysium. Like most cases their names are the same as the names of their respective fields. All the seats were currently occupied except for my mother's who was away helping Lady Demeter.

"Perseus is right father. As the child with the gift of prophecy, I see visions but they change ever so frequently. I consulted Lord Apollo and Lord Triton and they've the same case but it appears all our futures end near Tartarus" my brother stated.

My father looked deep in thought, despite what the general opinion of mortals is; he's not all dark and gloomy. He's actually pretty friendly and easy going and is a quite an ingenious man.

"Styx, your river runs deep into Tartarus, can't you tell us what the problem is" my father asked facing Lady Styx.

"I would've immediately shared any knowledge of such importance Hades but whenever I'm down there everything seems to be alright" she said.

My father was about to speak when suddenly the doors of the throne room swung open and in came Lord Hermes, his wings flapping wildly.

"Lord Hades, your brother has requested your company on Olympus. A tragedy has occurred" he said with urgency.

"What kind of Tragedy lord Hermes?" I asked.

He looked at me, sadness evident in his eyes.

"It's Queen Persephone, she has been abducted".


	3. An hour

Percy's POV

The intensity of tension in the Olympian throne room was so great that you could cut it if you were slice a blade in the air.

The entire council of Hades was currently sitting on arranged chairs in the throne room.

"Brother, I believe you've been informed of the situation" Lord Zeus addressed my father.

"Yes but I'd like to know how the queen was abducted and by whom and how could you've possible let this happen?" My father said with an edge to his voice which made his younger brother flinch.

"I understand this is a difficult time for you brother but you can't possibly blame me for this and as for your first two questions…" he said the last part turning towards Lady Athena. She nodded her head and spoke "Lord Hades I've reason to believe it was the Titans that did it".

Before father could speak I beat him to it "I don't mean to be rude my lady but to it sounded like you said the titans abducted my mother" I said because the last I remember they were in Tartarus and the there have been no reports of any one escaping.

The goddess of wisdom glared at me from her throne before speaking "That is exactly right Hades-spawn, the titans abducted your mother".

I gave her a smile, I should be more careful around Lady Athena, she's a very good goddess but gets really pissed off when someone questions her statements.

"I meant no disrespect my lady but as a 'Hades-spawn' as you so kindly put it, I know what happens in the underworld. There've been no reports of any titans escaping Tartarus" I explained "May I ask your reasons to believe it's the titans".

Her glared softened a little before she spoke with haughty expression "When the news of the abduction reached Olympus, the gods extended their senses to locate her. We were initially unsuccessful but then we tried to search for her essences in San-Francisco, we were blocked out. I personally tried to teleport there but some kind of magic is shielding the place".

"San-Francisco, well I guess that does explain a lot" Bianca stated. She then looked towards Lord Zeus before asking "As per the treaty between my father, Lord Poseidon and yourself Lord Zeus, the army of Hades cannot leave the underworld. So I'd like to know what action is being taken to rescue my mother."

"We've deployed a quest from Camp Halfblood" Dionysus answered my sister.

The council of Hades looked at each other, not believing what they were hearing.

"A quest?" Nico(Nichorius) asked raising an eye brow in disbelief.

"Yes, a quest. Lead by my daughter Annabeth". Lady Athena said.

"As confident as I'm in your child's abilities my lady but I just can't get past the fact that three demigods have been deployed to rescue my mother" Nico said, although his voice was calm but I knew that inside he was boiling with anger.

"My brother is right. Surely the mighty Olympians can do more than three demigods" Hazel mocked.

"Don't mock us girl, the demi-gods we sent are the best in over a century" Lady Athena threatened.

"Zeus, is what I'm hearing correct, that you've only sent demigods to help my wife." My father asked, anger barely suppressed in his voice.

"Then what would have us do brother? I cannot send my army because if this is truly the work of the titans. They might attack Olympus" Zeus replied.

"My lord, may I suggest you send some of the minor gods" I suggested.

"We can't, what if the titans attack with a very large army, we'll need everyone we have" Lady Athena said.

"So are you implying that those puny demigods are the only help you'll provide my mother" My brother Nico shouted, of my siblings he was the closest to our mother.

"Unfortunately yes" Lady Athena replied calmly, which flared my brothers anger even more.

"Listen to me Goddess, if this council doesn't send proper help to my mother within the next hour. My army will not be confined to the underworld" My brother threatened.

"You are bound by the treaty, no army of Hades may step foot on the upperworld" Lady Athena remind.

My brother smirked before answering "Yes, you're right. However I said nothing about an army of Hades, I was talking about my army." He then vanished from the throne room.

"I agree with my brother, you've an hour to arrange a proper rescue mission or the ghost army will rise" I said before the teleporting back to the underworld.

When I reappeared in the underworld throne room, I heard my brother Nico say some more then unfriendly words about the Olympians.

"Nico calm down." I said.

"How can you tell me to calm down, our mother has been abducted and those Olympians are refusing to help" he retorted.

"It's alright, if they don't do something soon, we'll march our armies to Othrys." I assured.

Just then the entire council of Hades flashed in.

"Percy ready your men, you march in hour" my father ordered.

"But dad t shouldn't we wait, we've given the Olympians an hour to do send proper help" I suggested.

He nodded his head sideways before sighing "I know my siblings and their children quite well. Just ready your armies"

"Of course father" I said before I teleported my palace.

I was in my palace, coming up with a proper strategy to attack Othrys and save my mother. My brother Nico and my sisters, Bianca and Hazel were with me as well.

"Why don't I take my army and attack first, Bianca and her forces can support me, while you and Hazel reinforce us" I suggested.

Nico frowned at me "No way, why don't me and hazel attack first and you and Bianca reinforce us" he retorted.

"Because little brother, my army is larger than yours, in case you've forgotten, I've been recruiting far longer then you've" I said. Nico's face burned red with barely suppressed anger. I inwardly laughed at the look on his face.

"Just because its larger, doesn't mean its better" he shouted.

"Nico calm down" Bianca scolded "Think about it carefully. You attacking first will make the army suspicious of a surprise attack by Perseus but if he were to attack first then the titan army will be giving their all, as he's the first born of our parents, it makes sense that he'd be leading the attack, which will give you and Hazel the benefit of a surprise attack".

"Well well little sis, you're not as stupid as I thought" I teased, which earned me a fist in the stomach from Bianca. I bent down in pain, my face must've been comical because all three of my siblings burst out laughing. Once they stopped, Nico looked at me with more than pissed off expression.

"Fine but if you two don't save some of the enemy for us, you'll find yourselves in a lot of pain" Nico threatened with his eyes turning a blood red, which made me and Bianca gulp and Hazel to smirk evilly.

"Very well then, let us go get our mother".


	4. Surface

Perseus stood behind his bedroom window, gazing down at his city. He was unconsciously twirling a black rose in his hand as he thought of the future. His nightmares had gotten worse after his mothers abduction. They still ended at the entrance of Tartarus but he had started to hear a deep evil voice at the end of his dreams, "Soon young godling, soon" it kept saying and every time did, it sent a cold chill down his spine. The voice frightened him, more so then anything else. He had not the faintest of clue as to whom the voice belonged to but it was evident that whoever or whatever it is, it's powerful.

He was so caught up in his train of thoughts that he did not hear his sister come in. Bianca was worried for her brother; it was unlike him to be unaware of his surroundings. Her brother was very cautious person. Normally it's virtually impossible to sneak up in him but lately he seems distracted. She would've assumed it's because of their mother being abducted but she had a feeling it was something else.

"Perseus" she said, successfully bringing him back to realm of the living or the dead.

Although Percy was startled by someone suddenly calling his name, he did not let it show. His back was turned to his sister so it made it easier to hide his reaction.

"We're ready to leave, I assume we'll be surfacing via the LA gateway" Bianca said.

"No" he stated firmly.

"No? But it's the closest to gateway from Othrys" Bianca reasoned.

"True but our enemy will suspect us to take that route and would've already set up traps and might ambush us en route to Othrys, plus LA is densely populated, I'm in no mood to deal with pesky mortals" Percy explained.

"Then how do you plan on surfacing then?" Bianca asked.

Percy turned around and so that he was facing his sister, an evil grin on his face "Hells gate" he said.

Bianca's eyes widened when he said it before her face took on an expression similar to her brothers.

"I see you've thought this through brother" she said.

Perseus smirked and walked past Bianca "Lets go sis" . (^_^) (~_~) (*_*)

/|\_/|\_/|\

_**The Olympian Throne room.**_

"Father, Perseus and his army have surfaced, his sister and her troops are with him as well" Athena informed.

Zeus appeared to be contemplating what his daughter said. He wasn't surprised that the boy had the guts to march his army to the surface world. After all he is a son of one of the elder three or the better statement would be, he is a son of Hades.

Zeus does not hate his elder brother, as most people believe and he did not trick his brother into choosing the underworld as his domain but it was Hades himself who had voluntarily picked the underworld.

"What sort of action do you advise Athena?" Zeus asked. He adorned his daughter, she was his favorite. She would always support him in an argument and her advices were always wise and effective, she without a doubt is the Goddess of Wisdom.

"I think we should send Artemis and her hunters to tell him to go back to the underworld" she advised.

Artemis looked at her sister quizzically "Why my hunters, sister?" she asked.

"We cannot spare any of the minor gods right now, you're hunters are the next best choice." Athena explained.

"Alright but what if he refuses? Do you expect me to wage war on him?" Artemis questioned, she was glad she and her hunters were chosen to confront Perseus. It has been a while since they had a good hunt but she knew if the boy had his army with him, trying to stop him by force would be futile.

Athena shook her head, "No sister I don't expect you to do anything of the sort but quite the opposite really. If Perseus refuses to return to the underworld, I want you to aid him in his attack on Othrys" .

Athena words took the council by surprise "Aid him? Why on earth would you want her to aid him?" Dionysus asked.

"I agree with Dionysus Athena. Why do you want your sister to aid the boy?" Zeus asked.

Athena scowled at being questioned; she hated it when people questioned her plans.

"Father think about it for a second, if we were to force him to return to the underworld. He would retaliate with the full might if his army and brethren. The battle would weaken our armies and there's no telling what the boy might do". Athena explained "If the titans are truly rising then we would need to conjure every ally we have. What if the titans take advantage of our little battle and offer him his mother back in return for assistance in their attack on Olympus? We don't know if we can survive an attack by the underworld alone, if the titans were to help as well. Olympus would be razed to the ground".

The council fell silent; no one knew what to say. Everyone knew Athena was right; the underworld is not a foe to reckon with.

"But if we send the hunters and Artemis to assist him, then he would be grateful to us. If the titans really do attack, we'd have the support of Hades and his army" Athena concluded at which everyone nodded their heads in understanding.

"Impressive as always Athena, very well then let's put it to a vote". Zeus said "All in favor of Athena's plan", everyone in the council raised their hands, even Poseidon who rarely ever agreed with anything Athena suggested.

"Very well then" Zeus said and then turned his gaze towards Artemis. "Artemis you know what to do"

Artemis nodded and flashed to where her hunters had camped.

(^_^) (~_~) (*_*)

/|\_/|\_/|\

Death Valley, a basin situated near the border between the states of California and Nevada. At a depression of 84 meters below sea level, it is the deepest, driest and hottest place on the continental US. Situated within the Mojave Desert, the temperatures here are considered to be the highest in the world. Scary, Deadly and beautiful, it makes you wonder if the place is really of this earth.

The silverish-red sands of Hell's Gate slowly swirled into a gigantic sand-devil; the sand-devil grew taller and larger until it was touching the heavens above. From the eye of the tornado a lone figure slowly walked out, his obsidian eyes shimmering with power. Then another silhouette appeared next him and then another and then another.

The sand tornado slowly faded and the sands returned to the ground, revealing an army of roughly three thousand warriors. Each warrior wore, what appeared to be black armor, their breast plates itched with leaf like design and at the base of the leaf a blue gem in the shape of a dew drop. The army of the Ghost King has surfaced.

A/N: Okay guys hope liked the chapter, please read and review. One of you complained about the last chapter being totally shitty, do anyone else feel that way?

Till next time _Au wair_.

P.S: Don't forget to review.

P.P.S: Seriously Review.


	5. Death Valley

AN: Okay ladies and gentle germs, here is the next chapter. love it, hate it but for Hades sake don't forget to review it. I'm sure there will be no grammar mistakes thanks to my amazing beta DeathmatchDrunkard, hats off to you mate.

The army of the Ghost King marched swiftly through the torturing temperatures of Death Valley, or should one say, what used to be the torturing temperatures of Death Valley. For some reason, the daytime temperatures were a record low.

Rain clouds, usually considered a rarity in the region, blocked out the harsh Sun. No doubt the geologists were going to have a field day at this sudden change in weather and temperature.

Percy's POV

"Brother, one of my scouts reports the hunters of Artemis up ahead", Bianca informed. I grinned; this was going according to plan.

"What are your orders, brother?"

"Are they in Death Valley or outside of it?", I asked, just for confirmation.

"They're just up ahead, they should be here within an hour", Bianca answered.

"Good, let's go intercept them halfway. After all, it's bad manners to make a lady wait ,or should I say, ladies."

"Ladies who are thirsty for male blood, I would advise caution, brother."

"Come on now, sister, what kind of a lady can resist my charm?". Bianca rolled her eyes and hit me at the back of my head.

"Hey!", I protested. She just rolled her eyes again and walked past me, mumbling something about immature siblings.

The Hunters of Artemis had received word that they were to head towards Death Valley.

This didn't pose a big problem as their camp was already located nearby, but when it was revealed they were to intercept the army of the Ghost King, the Hunters wondered if they would make it out alive or not. Fortunately, Lady Artemis was with her followers and with her by their side, they felt strong and ready to take on anything, but a little fear still lingered in their hearts.

The lieutenant of the Hunters, Zoe Nightshade, was ecstatic, for after a long time the Hunters were finally given a challenging task again. To face the army of the Ghost King, frightening as it sounded, she couldn't help but feel anxious. She always loved danger; there was something about being in a life-and-death situation that made her excited.

Plus she always wanted to see the Ghost King. Rumor had him to be the best fighter in the whole of Greek Pantheon and his army was feared by any foe _who has had_ the misfortune of facing it in combat.

"Lady Artemis!", she called out for her mistress as they neared the boarder of Death Valley.

"What is it Zoe?". Artemis asked.

"My Lady, I was wondering, Perseus has a reputation for thinking ahead, plus he has also given asylum to Prometheus...", she stated.

Artemis frowned and said:

"Yes, he planned out the recapture of the Underworld when it was usurped by Iapetus, millennia ago. The entire realm was recaptured rather swiftly and it is rumored that he had already foretold the results of a battle.

Most people thought he used his gift of prophecy, but Apollo has the same gift and can sense when someone is trying to take a peek into the future. My annoying brother said he did not sense anyone trying to see into the future during the recapture of the Underworld."

"If so, don't you think we should proceed with caution? From all that I heard about the heir of the Underworld, I think he has a plan, one that would include how to deal with Olympians as well", Zoe cautioned.

"Yes, you're right, but we don't have much choice. Zeus has ordered us to confront him and try our best to see that he returns to the Underworld."

_.line break _.

Percy's POV

With the pace we were moving, we would arrive at the border by nightfall. I wish I could just teleport there and rescue my mother, but sadly I knew that, if someone who is powerful enough to abduct my mother, it would be really hard for me to beat them on my own and there were a lot of other variables that limited my choices to a full-out campaign.

"Percy, hunters inbound", Bianca said, pointing towards the top of the sand dune we were about to start climbing.

"_Halt_", I ordered and the entire army came to a stop. It was better to confront them in the valley then to try to climb the dune, for every strategic reason. "Bianca, tell the generals to accompany us in greeting Lady Artemis and her hunters."

Bianca nodded and disappeared, only to reappear after a minute with six other soldiers.

"Perseus, what are your orders?", one of the generals asked in a velvet voice that clearly indicated her to be female.

"Do not attack unless attacked upon first and even if so, only neutralize them, you do not have permission to kill", I commanded.

"Understood", came the unison reply.

(^_^) line break ( _ )

A group of girls in camouflage pants and silver parkas made their way down a sand dune. In the front was a twelve-years-old with silver eyes and auburn hair tied into a neat ponytail, a bow clinging to her back.

At the bottom of the sand dune waited an army of black-armored men. Eight figures walked away from the main force towards the incoming girls.

Percy's POV

I saw Lady Artemis and her Hunters make their way down the sand dune. My generals and I walked towards them and both our parties met at the bottom of the sand dune.

Lady Artemis was in her twelve-years-old form, wearing the usual Hunters outfit. Next to her stood lieutenant Zoe Nightshade, followed by the rest of the girls.

"Lady Artemis, it's very generous of you to grace us with your presence", I said as I bowed to the goddess, who seemed surprised before returning to her emotionless facade.

"You are not welcomed on the surface world, Hades-spawn, return to your realm peacefully or I will be forced to use other means!", Artemis spat in a cold icy tone. I just smiled warmly at her because I learned a long time ago that the only way to fight hate is with love.

"I mean no offense to you, Milady, but I've no intention of coming to the surface world out of my own free will. There's nothing here that can compare to the afterlife, but unfortunately, my mother has been abducted and the inadequate effort by the Olympians to rescue her has forced me and my siblings into doing what is necessary", I replied with the usual kindness behind my voice.

"That is none of our concern, boy; we have orders to make sure you return to your real!" the lieutenant of Artemis spat, "You are trespassing on Olympian territory, so turn back peacefully.".

I turned my head so that I was facing Zoe and bowed.

"I beg to differ, Lady Nightshade, the queen of the Underworld being abducted whilst she was in your mistress's territory is a very big concern of ours and it's not me nor my army who's doing the trespassing, but it's you and your mistress that has entered my father's domain without his permission, a crime punishable by death as per the rules of the Underworld" I stated.

The hunters and the goddess looked genuinely confused.

"What are you talking about, Perseus?", Lady Artemis demanded. I smirked, knowing they were in for one _hell_ of a surprise.

"I believe you know about the distribution of domains between our fathers and Lord Poseidon?", I asked.

"Of course I know", Lady Artemis replied agitated

"And you realize that you are in Death Valley."

"I am an Olympian goddess, do not try my patience!" Artemis replied harshly, but before I could retort, Bianca beat me to it.

"As per the rules of the treaty, the sky belongs to Zeus, the sea to Poseidon and the Underworld belongs to my father."

"Yes, I know what the treaty says."

I looked at Bianca to see she was trying very hard not to smack the mood goddess. Unlike me, Bianca had trouble dealing with completed people.

In a way, she was my polar opposite, with me being a god of death and her being the goddess of life. I guess our domains had some effect on our personalities, life is restless whilst death is calm, maybe that was the reason we had opposite personalities.

Regardless, if Artemis didn't stop speaking like that, I was going to have a major cat fight on my hands.

"Do you now? Well, the treaty is far more complex than that, the true words of the treaty are as follows...". Pulling out an ancient looking scroll and opening it, my sister picked up where she left off.

"And I quote: 'The heavens shall be the domain of Zeus, youngest son of Kronos and Rhea. The seas shall be ruleed over by Poseidon, son of Kronos and Rhea, and the Underworld shall belong to Hades, eldest son of Kronos and Rhea.

The territory of the heavens shall begin from the mid-troposphere, all of hydrosphere shall be in the territory of Poseidon and anyplace below sea-level and out of the hydrosphere are the territories of Hades. Any territory between shall be neutral ground.'. I swear on the Styx that this treaty is authentic."

Bianca re-scrolled the treaty and made it vanish.

By the time my sister was finished, all the color from the moon goddess's face had drained out. If I didn't know better, I'd have mistaken her for a child of Hades.

"I don't know what you're planning, Perseus, but you and your army are going back to your realm, now!", Zoe spat, obviously not understanding the gravity of the situation she was in at the moment.

I smirked at her obliviousness, "But Lady Nightshade, I never left my realm.".

Her anger seemed to be multiplied by my words, "What do you mean?," she asked with obvious hatred in her voice.

"You stupid girl, you've no idea where you are, do you? And you call yourself hunters. In your haste to confront us, you've marched into Death Valley, the deepest area on the continental US, almost 84 meters below sea-level. You, my dear have, just walked in the underworld without my father's permission. You and your mistress have trespassed on the lands of Hades, you have broken the ancient law and are hereby at the mercy of the court of Hades."


End file.
